Chapter Eight
After little argument they decided Trowa, Wufei and Quatre would stay behind, hiding in the bushes, ready to bolt should anything go wrong, while Heero and Duo cautiously closed in on the cabin.
Though their footseps were far from silent, crushing leaves each time they planted their feet, the noise of the rain covered that so they went unheard as they came closer and closer. The darkness was also in their advantage and soon, after going undetected thusfar, for as far as they knew, they stood in front of the small cabin's door. Duo watched, his clothes uncomfortably sticking to his body as Heero pressed his ear against the door, listening.
Taking initiative Duo crouched down and crawled towards one, of the in total only two, windows of the cabin. Sitting under the window he slowly raised hismelf on his trembling knees. Wether he was trembling from fear, loss of strength or cold, he didn't know. His best guess was that all of those factors were involved. Before raising his head above the windowstill he looked back and was satisfied to notice the other three were invisible in the heavy rain. He peeked into the cabin, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness inside. He felt Heero looking at him, waiting for his okay to open the door. It was hard to concentrate with such an intense gaze resting on him, but he managed and he concluded there was no one in the cabin. Still, Heero opened the door as soundless as possible and entered cautiously. Duo followed him in. As soon as his eyes were adjusted he noticed the cabin was larger than it seemed. It had one single bed, neatly made, a nightstand, a writing desk with a well used chair in front of it, a chest drawer and a larger closet. All furniture was made out of heavy dark wood.
The first thing he did was ran the tip of his index finger along the surface of the desk. With an unsatisfied frown he said: 'No dust.' That meant that someone had been there and had used this cabin for atleast a week or two ago, if not shorter. That someone was using this cabin frightened him but he will not be deterred, he remembered vividly what Heero told them about their shots at survival. While Heero searched for the important things they came for, Duo did a little investigating. He patted the pillow on the bed and was again concerned to notice no dust sprang up into the air. He directed his attention to the night stand, which was actually a simple wooden chair that found another use in life. On it's seat was a lamp, a flashlight and a pocketknife. The desk also homed a lamp and a phone, but as he picked it up he discovered it was out of order. In the middle lay a noteblock, but there was nothing written on it, though many pages were torn out. The desk had three drawers but all of them were locked and he didn't want to force them and leave a trace so, despite his dying curiosity, he moved on and gasped softly as he noticed a hunting gun hanging on the wall.
Heero, who responded to his gasp, pointed out: 'Be grateful it's on the wall, that probably means it hasn't been used in a long time. And that the owner doesn't bring it everywhere he goes.'
Duo nodded, though not soothed. Looking at Heero he saw he was plundering the chest drawer for clothes that fit their small, skinny frames.
He went back to his own search and opened the larger closet, which was devided with about ten shelves, all sporting what, at first sight, appeared to be personal junk one might have gathered over the years, spending lonely days cooped up in a cabin. He was excited to notice a white box with a red cross on it sitting on the top shelf. Standing on the tip of his toes he reached for it and placed it on the desk so he could search for what they needed. He found a few new syringes, still wrapped in plastic, two bottles with antibiotics, which he kissed gratefully and bandaid, along with other medicine with difficult names he couldn't even pronounce. 'Do we need any of these?' he held up the bottles with difficultly names medicine.
Heero scanned the etiquettes and before answering he asked: 'Do you have antibiotics?'
Duo smiled proudly 'Yep.'
He looked at the bottles again and after grabbing one of them and adding them to the pile he concluded for the others: 'No.'
Duo nodded and put them back in the box, which he placed on the shelf again. When done he walked outside and circled around the cabin, looking around, checking if no one was coming their way. When he was sure they were safe he went back in to continue exploring the closet. Three minites later, while he was still rumaging for valuable stuff Heero was the one to go outside and check the perimises. Not because he didn't trust Duo, but because that was something that had to be done once in a while when plundering the home of your could be enemy.
'Oh! There is a god...' Duo stated as he pulled a few cans from the bottom shelf and placed them on the bed. They had no etiquette but with black markers the content was described on it. Food. Most of them read: BEANS and while he hated beans, his mouth watered. Once they were done here and were at a safe distance they should risk making a little fire and then they could finally eat real food! Excited already he was quick to continue his search, eager to get out of the scary place and eat. His stomach agreed with a loud growl.
'Duo, get those matches too.'
Duo nodded and grabbed the small box, laying them onto the heap of clothes, medicine and cans. 'Do you think we have all we need?' Duo asked as he scanned the heap on the bed and what was left in the closet.
Heero looked at the pile as well and nodded after a while, looking around the cabin, being sure they didn't miss something. 'I think this will be enough, let's go.'
Duo nodded and grabbed the half of the pile Heero didn't lift, sharing the load. He was about to follow his partner when his eyes caught sight of a small key, hanging on a nail on the side of the desk, hidden in shadows. He whispered for Heero wait but the Japanese man kept on walking. Putting two and two together he figured the key fitted perfectly in the locks of the drawers. Gently putting down his half of the stolen goods he grabbed the key, mesmerised and with anxiety and hope a soldier should never have, he put it in the lock of the top drawer and turned the key. He smirked as he heard the lock clicking and the drawer could be opened. Inside he was met with disappointment as all he saw was a small, leatherbound book. He was about to reach for it when a strong hand gripped his shoulder, so mesmerized he didn;t even hear anyone coming and he let out a startled scream that was mufled by a hand that came up to cover his mouth. He bit the hand, insitincts kicking in, he turned to give this guy a piece of his own medicine but his eyes widened as he saw the unamused face of one Heero Yuy.
'Sorry man, you just scared the shit out of me!'
Heero put his fingers to his lips and whispered: 'Let's go.'
Duo nodded, he grabbed the stuff again after locking the drawer and putting the key back where he found it. With some disappoinment he left the book behind. He closed the door of the cabin behind him and ran after Heero. They picked up the others and for a few minutes they ran, they ran on fumes, their empty stomachs protesting but for some reason they felt there was a need to run, to get out of there as fast as possible, all the while, they kept heading north.
Five minutes of running and two hours of walking later, Heero decided it was far enough and he suggested they'd stop.
They agreed gratefully and fell to the floor.
The rain had lessened, but still the angels up in heaven continued to weep. Drops kept falling down, not giving them a chance to dry.
While they were in the cabin, Trowa had used his empty waterbottle, which they had salvaged from the plane, to catch the drops that came down from the sky and they shared the drink as they tried to catch their breaths.
'Thanks.' Duo muttered as he was handed the bottle after Heero. It didn't even cross his mind that Heero's lips had just touched the same surface his lips were now touching. Usually he would have drooled at the thought, but now, he only cared for the water. Call it survival instincts... His body knows very well it is in more need of water then Heero's lips. Though his heart seemed to disagree.
Be silent my heart, Duo said to hismelf as he got carried away with the thought. He handed the bottle back to Trowa who used the last bit to give Quatre a second drink.
Heads turned as Heero broke low thick branches off some trees and used them to make two A-frames. He buried the ends in the moist, no, call it soaked soil, making them stand straight up, about one and a half meter in between the two frames. Then he reached for the pile of stuff they had stolen and pulled out a large green waterresistant canvas which he used to finish his home made tent. He covered the ground in the tent, now sheltered from the rain, with a thick blanket he had stolen and motioned 03 to lay Quatre in the tent so they could bandage and clean his wounds. He didn't make a fuss about it when Trowa wanted to handle it so he crawled back out of the makeshift tent and convinced Duo and WuFei to share the one raincoat he had found. Huggled under the rain coat WuFei just blindly stared far away and Duo watched Heero devide the clothes between the five of them, they could change when the weather cleared. Though it didn't look like that would be any time soon. Duo couldn't wait to have fresh, intact clothing on his body again, even though they did possibly belong to a murderer. He couldn't wait to strip the clothing he had once puked on, off his his body.
'Was it an OZ cabin?' WuFei asked, maybe feeling the need to talk as they were sitting hip to hip, shoulder to shoulder.
'No... atleast, we didn't find anything that would suggest that an OZ soldier bunked there.' Duo answered as he didn't remember finding a uniform, badges or any other gun besides the one on the wall and that hardly seem like the regular OZ weaponary.
Night fell without the rain ever relenting. Duo didn't even recall falling asleep but soon enough he awoke to the sound of singing birds, the weather had cleared and the sun was shining brightly through the leaves making the forest a little less hostile. He smiled secretively as he noticed he, Heero and WuFei were still snuggled under the same raincoat while Trowa had slept in the tent after tending Quatre. Not having the heart to wake the boy that only looked serene when asleep he slowly crawled away, shivering in the cold as he no longer had Heero's body beside him to warm him up. He looked into the tent, finding Quatre still unconscious, already wearing new clothes. Trowa was no where to be found. Frowning he straightened and looked around, spotting the lone figure not far from them, his back facing their little camp. Part of his mind objected, but he ignored it as he approached the other pilot and went to stand besides him, noting that he too wore fresh clothing, loose, but fitting pants and a green sweater that was a good two sizes too large.
'Hey.' He received no acknowledgement but Trowa would have be deaf and blind to not notice Duo's presence.
After a while he spoke: 'You said you knew why I acted so 'strangely'?'
Duo nodded, for the first time in his life not elaborating.
'Well?' Trowa looked at him expectantly.
Duo smirked, it felt strangely satisfying to be the one with all the answers. Made him feel warmer than any sweater ever could. 'I think you're scared.'
Trowa snorted in a very Heero like matter as if to say: I fear nothing. Fear is for the weak.
'I think you were afraid Heero couldn't take it. When you carried him out of the plane... you thought he was unfit to lead us, so you took over. Natural dominant instincts.'
Though he resented being called bossy Trowa agreed with a curt, barely noticable nod.
'The only thing I can't explain is why it happened so all of a sudden, did something snap or...?'
'No... it was something I had been carrying around for quite a while. I'm not saying Heero is a bad leader and can't be trusted, for thus far he has kept us all safe and sound, though he might not have done it intentionally.'
Duo snickered, yes, Heero and his missions, have mercy apon the poor souls that stand in his way or slow him down...
'I've been questioning why we always follow him. We are equals, so how come we all resigned to our fate and let heero in charge.'
Duo sighed 'As much as I hate to admit it, Heero is a better soldier. He's not a better person, I believe he's not the kind of person that would come back for a fallen soldier,' though he did come back for me... 'but he is trained to lead, don't you agree?'
'Well, why was he trained to lead and not me or you?'
Duo shrugged 'I never question the good.'
Trowa frowned 'The good?'
The american made fierce eyecontact with the other pilot as he spoke seriously: 'Do you really whish you would have come out of your training like Heero? Do you seriously want to end up like him? I mean, I'm not trying to be mean, I like the guy, but there's hardly any humanity left.'
'... I guess you're right... but we all have our issues.'
'Well, I don't want to sound arrogant or anything but I rather have mine than his. So what if I joke just because I want to cry whenever I'm serious!' Okay, maybe he shouldn't have said that.
Thank god Trowa didn't comment, maybe because he noticed Duo whished he hadn't said that aloud. The guy was more considerate than he let on.
'I think Heero is a better leader.'
'Because I led us in circles?' Trowa half joked.
'No, because of Heero's reluctance to be humane. It allows him to see things objectively, he doesn't let emotions affect his decisions and that makes him take the most rational choices. You ever heard of that experiment? Wether a guy runs faster when chased by danger, or if he would receive a reward at the finish line? We... we are the guys that run fast from fear. Heero is the guy that runs fast for the money, or the mission is his case. The fear does not bother him, he's out for the money, he's out to achieve his goal. While we run from fear and if we get to the finish alive and get the cash, that's a nice bonus. You see where I'm heading?'
Trowa nodded, understanding.
'Good... So do you agree with me if I say it's best to let Heero lead the pack, just as he has been trained to do so?'
'Yes, but one question, if he is trained to lead? What I'm I trained for?'
Duo smirked and offered jokingly: 'To follow?' With that he left, leaving Trowa to ponder in an effort to find the answer to his own question.
Without asking Heero's permission, as Duo was hungry as hell, he got a small fire going and boiled one of the cans that read: BEANS. The smell of the beans cooking in the opened can must have awoken the perfect soldier. Soon Duo found the Japanese pilot standing next to him as Duo was crouching down in front of his 'pan' and was stirring the beans with a stick.
'You got a fire going.' Heero pointed out, sounding a little detached.
'Yeah. I'm sorry but I thought a good meal-'
'I don't mind.' Heero cut in as he crouched besides him 'I'm too hungry to care.'
Duo smiled, nearly splitting his face in two.
'How will we eat?'
'I stole some plates too, go get them.' Well, they weren't exactly plates, two small tin cans, two plastic cups and the cut out bottom of a coke bottle.
Heero retrieved them and they devided the food. Even though there was no way they could get it down Quatre's throat, they didn't have the heart to devide it in just four meals.
01, 02 and 05 were sitting in front of the fire, for the first time in ten days having a decent breakfast while Trowa tried his best to get the unconscious blonde to eat. Judging by the sound of his soft curses it wasn't working. It made them feel sad, but mostly just useless because they knew there was nothing they could do.
While Trowa was doing the best he could, Heero and Duo discussed the food.
'How many cans do we have?'
'Five.'
'I say we open one can a day, that will give us a fairly decent meal for five days.'
Heero lowered his eyes and then said softly, for once considering the others: 'It might be best to do two days with each can, that way we can last longer, remember Duo, we're a little less than two weeks away.'
Duo nodded, he figured that much, since they had been at the socalled halfway point after walking for a week. Unfortunately enough they had been tracing their own footsprints... 'Okay, two days, one can.' Not feeling like going into an argument because he knew Heero would not only win in the end, but was also probably right. Next was the clothing. Normally he would resent wearing anything that looked as ugly as the clothes Heero handed them, but now he grasped them out of his hands and hugged the warm heap thanking God for his mercy.
'Where do I change?' He slapped himself mentally, that were the comments that made them say: 'You don't have the brain capacity for it'... and here he thought he didn't hold grudges...
Heero, not making a big deal of stupid comment just shrugged and walked off with his own set.
Well, Duo might be grateful for many things at this moment. He was grateful for the food in his stomach, the drink that quenched his thirst and grateful for the warm clothes in his hands. But right now his mind was most grateful for the fact that he could shamelssly watch his co-pilot undress. As he stripped out of his own clothing, behind the only bushes near to the campsite his eyes kept wandering towards Heero, whom he was sharing the bushes with. Duo didn't complain. Strangely, Heero did neither.
While enjoying the feeling of the clothes he also enjoyed the scenery. When changing into loose black jeans and the stereotype lumberjack button-up shirt, chequered red and black he sneaked peeks at Heero who traded his usual too tight faded jeans and tank top that only looked good on a guy with his exact upperbody, for dark blue jeans and a grey sweater much like the one Trowa was wearing. Oh and they looked four sizes too big for Heero, but aestetics were not of their cocnern. Even though Duo was not surprised to notice he even looked good in those unflattering clothes that did his lean body no justice whatsoever. But then again, if one could make spandex look good, you can look haut-couture wearing a garbage bag.
When they returned Trowa just finished helping WuFei, much to his dismay, change his clothes into light jeans and a shirt with the same style as Duo's only his was coloured blue and black.
'Well, aren't we making a fashion statement!' Duo commented and for the first time he was able make them laugh. Well, not really, just the upward curling of lips but after days of gloominess he was happy to get just that.
After burning their clothes they extinquished the fire with sand and dirt and rolled the few things they had to take with them in the green canvas that had been used as a tent. Once turned into a neat package they all took their turns carrying it, passing it onto someone else every two hours. Except for Trowa, who still insisted to be the one to carry Quatre.
He had heard of survival stories and people getting all happy after having a decent meal. He always thought of it as bullshit but he couldn't help but whistle as they continued heading North, even though he knew very well that it must have dawned to everyone by now that most, maybe even none of them would make it there...
But there was only one thing for Duo to do... keep on whistling...
Yes, lame, I know... live with it.
C.W.